Jamaica Eyes Former Canada Boss John Herdman as Next National Team Manager
Ex-Canada men's national team coach John Herdman has become a leading candidate for the Jamaica men's national team position, according to sources speaking to Sports Illustrated.
Jamaica has not yet held formal interviews but is seeking a new coach after Steve McClaren stepped down following a 0–0 tie with Curaçao, which became the smallest country to ever reach World Cup qualification. This result meant Jamaica failed to secure an automatic Concacaf 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying position, leaving their dreams of reaching their first World Cup since 1998 dependent on inter-confederation playoffs in March.
Sources familiar with the hiring process revealed that Jamaica had made contact with Herdman's representatives before McClaren's departure.
Herdman, aged 50, guided Canada through Qatar 2022 World Cup qualification, leading them to the tournament for the first time in 36 years. During his tenure from 2018 to 2023, Canada climbed from 95th place to break into the top 30 of the FIFA men's world rankings for the first time.
The English-born coach departed his Canada position in August 2023, accepting managerial responsibilities with MLS side Toronto FC, before stepping down in November 2024 after just one season at the helm.
Drone Scandal Closed
His exit from Toronto occurred during the aftermath of a Canada Soccer investigation triggered by the drone surveillance controversy at the 2024 Summer Olympics, which resulted in Canada's women's national team receiving a points penalty and coach Bev Priestman, along with others, losing their positions with Canada Soccer.
Prior to his stint with Canada's men, Herdman led the Canadian women's team from 2011–2018, capturing two Olympic bronze medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
An independent investigation by Sonia Regenbogen from the law firm Mathews, Dinsdale and Clark regarding the drone surveillance incident found that the "practice of conducting covert surveillance of opponents" started before the Paris Olympics.
A subsequent disciplinary proceeding, overseen by a three-member panel independent of Canada Soccer, concluded with Herdman receiving a written reprimand in March.
"The chapter is well and truly closed," Herdman stated to The Canadian Press earlier this year. "I made my case very clearly to Canada Soccer and their response was not even a yellow card. … That was the outcome, a letter of admonishment."
Waiting on a Transformative Opportunity
Herdman has been clear that he is not permanently stepping away from soccer.
Nevertheless, the right opportunity must arise, and none has materialized since his Toronto departure. Sources confirmed he had received approaches from clubs in England and Canada, plus an international team outside of Concacaf.
He has taken this year away from professional coaching to escape public attention and spend additional time with his family in Vancouver, including his son, Jay Herdman, who plays professionally for Cavalry FC in the Canadian Premier League.
"I'm just raring to get back in, and it's just picking the right opportunity, whether it's an international or club," Herdman told Sports Illustrated columnist Henry Winter in May. "I've got a specific skill set. I like that transformational opportunity where you're able to bring something back from the dead and build it to become something quite historic."
Herdman's expertise lies in team and culture development, and motivating a cohesive group to achieve beyond their collective abilities, as he demonstrated with Canada during their journey to the 2022 World Cup.
Should the Jamaica position materialize, he would probably not need to relocate to Jamaica, a arrangement similar to current Canada men's coach Jesse Marsch, who resides in Italy.
And it's evident the success criteria for the Jamaica role center on qualifying through the playoffs.
"To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. We engaged [current Republic of Ireland manager] Heimir Hallgrímsson, then he left, we thought Steve McClaren would have been a good replacement, it has turned out that he has not been such a good replacement. We are supremely disappointed," Jamaican Football Federation president Michael Ricketts commented after the Curaçao match.
"We will reorganize, we have a second bite of the cherry, we will put things together and of course have an emergency meeting with the technical staff, and we will put an interim coach in place".
To reach the 2026 World Cup, Jamaica must win two matches in the inter-confederation playoffs, scheduled for Mexico in March. The 2026 FIFA World Cup takes place from June 11 to July 19 across venues in the United States, Canada and Mexico.